The first quarter of 2017 has been marked by advancements for open data through the U.N. World Data Forum, the Global Action Plan for Sustainable Development Data, and the U.N. Statistical Commission. The year has also witnessed setbacks in the level of trust of official statistics. As we move further into 2017, here is a look back at reports, blogs, and articles on the topic of the data revolution from January to March. If there is something else to add, please contact us.
MARCH
ONS looks to big data as it explores new ways to measure UK economy (3/27)
Katie Allen, economic reporter for the Guardian, writes an article describing how the United Kingdom’s official statistics office is considering using traffic sensors, mobile photo data, and satellite images as new ways of measuring the shape of the economy. (source)
Huge distrust in government statistics, especially in Republicans (3/24)
Catherine Rampell reports for the Washington Post on the growing distrust in official government data. A new YouGov survey finds that just over a third of respondents (36 percent) said they believe that all or most of the government statistics are reliable and accurate. (source)
Citizen-generated data and sustainable development: Evidence from case studies in Kenya and Uganda (3/24)
In March 2016, Making All Voices Count commissioned Development Initiatives and Development Research and Training (DRT) to conduct a one-year study on the use of citizen-generated data in two different cases in Uganda and Kenya. Development Initiatives now shares the main findings and recommendations in a full report and executive summary. (source)
Big Data and the Well-Being of Women and Girls: Applications on the Social Scientific Frontier (3/21)
Data2X publishes their most recent report on big data and its relevancy towards gender data. The report, highlighting work by UN Global Pulse and other partners, profiles several big data projects that quantify the economic, social, and health status of women and girls. (source)
Trump’s quiet war on data begins (3/20)
Terrence O’Brien authors an article for engagdet on the current state of federal data in the new administration. O’Brien highlights that the biggest threat to data in the US isn’t deletion or manipulation of data but rather its budget. (source)
What are the principles of joined-up data? (3/19)
Tom Orrell of Joined-Up Data Standards, an initiative of Publish What You Fund and Development Initiatives, provides five core principles for data interoperability on the Open Data Watch blog. These include use and reuse of existing data standards, metadata, common classification where possible, machine readable formats, and user-driven standards. (source)
Switch to open data could save companies $10B annually (3/14)
Evan Fallor writes an article on FedScoop highlighting the costs and benefits of open data. According to new research, a switch to standardized, open federal data formats could save U.S. companies roughly $10 billion in annual compliance costs. (source)
UN Statistical Commission Recommends SDG Indicator Framework for ECOSOC Adoption (3/14)
Ana Maria Lebada provides updates from the 48th United Nations Statistical Commission on IISD’s SDG Knowledge Hub. The UN Statistical Commission agreed on a draft resolution on the global indicator framework for the SDGs and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and recommended it to ECOSOC for adoption. (source)
Pakistan set to conduct first census in 19 years (3/14)
Ayaz Gul reports on Pakistan’s upcoming census for Voice of America News. Officials in Pakistan say that arrangements are in place to conduct a national census for the first time in 19 years starting Wednesday, and more than 200,000 troops will assist civilian enumerators in collecting the data. (source)
The road to open data (3/9)
Statistics Canada shares their results from the Open Data Inventory and plans for continued improvements in their national statistics office. As a leader in openness and coverage of official statistics, Statistics Canada ranks 1st in their region and 8th in the world. (source)
Making a case for joined-up data: a data story from Kenya (3/9)
Development Initiatives publishes a video on YouTube about data interoperability. Using Kenya as an example of implementation, the video aims to answer the questions, “What are the benefits of joining up data?” and, “How could joined-up data help government departments and others monitor progress and direct future spending effectively?” (source)
What do we know about when data does/doesn’t influence policy? (3/8)
Josh Powell of Development Gateway shares insights on how we can best realize an evidence-based utopia filled with data-driven decisions on Duncan Green’s From Poverty to Power blog. (source)
Towards a better future for women at work: Voices of women and men (3/8)
The International Labor Organization and Gallup publish a new report on perceptions surrounding women and employment around the world. This study provides a first-ever account of global attitudes and perceptions of women and men regarding women and work based on the 2016 Gallup World Poll. The poll, conducted in 142 countries and territories, represents 98 per cent of the global population. (source)
Weekly links from PARIS21 (3/8)
In celebration of International Women’s Day, PARIS21 provides a roundup of articles focusing on the data revolution, gender statistics, and gender more broadly from the week of March 8th. (source)
Announcing funding for 10 development data innovation projects (3/7)
The Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, on its blog, announces the recipients of the pilot round of a new multi-million dollar funding initiative to support collaborative data innovations for sustainable development. (source)
Closing the Gender Data Gap: A Conversation with Emily Courey Pryor of Data2X (3/6)
In this episode of the Champions for Social Good Podcast, Jamie Serino speaks with Emily Courey Pryor, Executive Director of Data2X, a collaborative technical and advocacy platform that works to improve the quality, availability, and use of gender data to make a practical difference in the lives of women and girls. (source)
Opinion: The case for metadata (3/3)
In a DevEx blog post, Beata Lisowska, a data scientist at Development Initiatives, advocates for the publication of metadata alongside all data. To derive maximum benefit from publishing metadata, data producers should go a step further to publish data with the same standard or at least seek interoperable solutions. (source)
UN Statistical Commission highlights open data for SDGs (3/3)
Open Data Watch provides links to resources from the seminar on open data during the 48th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission. This short article shares the presentations from the keynote and other distinguished speakers as well as the accompanying report on “Open Data to Support the Sustainable Development Goals.” (source)
The un-sung heroes of the quest for good data: national statistical offices and ministries
Ahead of the United Nations Statistical Commission, Silvia Montoya, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, stresses the importance of national statistical offices in the push for sustainable development, specifically the data they collect, produce, and publish. (source)
If cities are to ‘leave no one behind’, disaggregated data is invaluable. (3/3)
Brendan Bosworth of Citiscope reports on the need to improve the availability of disaggregated data to ensure full implementation of the SDGs. The article stresses the importance of geographic disaggregation given the central role cities will play in achieving the SDGs. (source)
FEBRUARY
How NASA and the UN are using location intelligence to build smart cities in developing countries (2/28)
Reporting for DevEx, Lisa Cornish shares developments of the new partnership between NASA and the United Nations that aims to build the capacity and use of geospatial technologies in developing countries. (source)
It’s the Census…but not as we know it (2/27)
The United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) shares the latest developments on their upcoming census. ONS aims to put together a census based on linking together administrative data held by the government. To test this method, the upcoming census will compare the results from this approach with outputs from the census and other official statistics. (source)
Just 1 in 4 people trust UK government to present official statistics honestly (2/27)
Political correspondent Jon Stone shares findings from the British Social Attitudes survey. According to the article on the Independent, the study found that 90 percent of people trusted the Office for National Statistics to produce accurate statistics, but just 26 percent said the government would present these accurately. (source)
The data revolution in developing countries has a long way to go (2/25)
Daniel Runde writes an opinion article for Forbes on the status of the data revolution, taking stock of where we currently are and where we need to be to achieve the aspiration of the sustainable development data agenda. (source)
Trustworthy statistics are a vital asset (2/23)
Bloomberg View publishes an editorial on the current use – or lack thereof – of evidence and data within the Trump administration. The article urges Congress ensure statistical agencies get the budgetary resources necessary to do their jobs. (source)
International open data roadmap (February)
Open Data for Development and partners publish the International Open Data Roadmap. The document includes a summary report of the international open data conference and provides the action plan for international collaboration on open data. (source)
Connecting the dots: Building the case for open data to fight corruption (2/23)
Transparency International and World Wide Web Foundation publish a new report that makes the case for using open data to strengthen anti-corruption efforts. The report assesses the extent to which a select group of G20 countries (Brazil, France, Germany, Indonesia, and South Africa) have met their commitments to fight corruption by applying and implementing the principles and actions set out in the G20 Principles. (source)
Why statisticians worry about alternative economic facts (2/21)
Matthew Slaughter, dean of Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and former member of the Council of Economic Advisers, discusses President Donald Trump’s approach to economic analysis and potential changes to how U.S. trade data is reported. He speaks with Bloomberg’s David Westin on Bloomberg Markets. (source)
Top NSO Officials across Asia complete statistical leadership training (2/14)
In collaboration with the UN Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP), PARIS21 organized the Statistical Leadership Training for Heads of NSOs in Asia in Chiba, Japan from 14-15 February 2017. Seven new Heads and Deputy Heads of NSOs participated in this joint training, facilitated by the Center for Creative Leadership. (source)
How can open data portals become sustainable? (2/16)
In a new report, commissioned by the European Data Portal, Tom Sasse of the Open Data Institute highlights the examples of best practice and sets out recommendations for how open data portals can design processes that make them sustainable. (source)
Mapping open data models: Who makes decisions about government data and how? (2/16)
Different countries have different models to govern and administer their open data activities. Ana Brandusescu, Danny Lämmerhirt and Stefaan Verhulst write an article on the Open Knowledge International blog that calls for a systematic and comparative investigation of the different governance models for open data policy and publication. (source)
What drives the Gates Foundation’s global health work? Data. (2/15)
Catherine Cheney authors an article on DevEx recapping the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s annual letter. The article highlights how data-driven the billionaire philanthropy is in their approach to fighting disease and reducing inequality. (source)
Meet four women leading the drive for open data in Africa (2/14)
Jeni Tennison, CEO at the Open Data Institute, writes a guest blog post on the World Bank’s Data Blog. She highlights four open data leaders from Africa and speaks with them about their work and perspectives of running open data programs across the region. (source)
The chaos of South Africa’s taxi system is being tackled with open data (2/11)
Lynsey Chutel authors an article for Quartz Africa showcasing how a new open source data platform is being order to the chaos of the daily commute in South Africa’s cities. (source)
Sudan Statistics Bureau introduces innovative statistical tools (2/4)
PARIS21 collaborates with the Sudan Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and undertakes an ADAPT and PISTA workshop from 4-9 February, 2017. The objective of the workshop is to present CBS with new tools to aid in the NSDS process. In addition, the workshop discussed new business models for managing statistical processes such as UNECE’s GAMSO and GSBPM. (source)
New in the #SDGs- Innovation in data partnerships (2/8)
With the ending of the first UN World Data Forum, new innovations in sustainable development data are being launched. SDG Counting highlights the recent partnerships established before and after the UN World Data Forum. (source)
Ghana to host 2nd Africa Open Data Conference (2/8)
Ghana Business News reports on the selection of Ghana as the host of the second Africa Open Data Conference (AODC) in July. The four-day conference will be help from July 17-21 and is set to attract over 600 delegates from all over Africa and the world. (source)
Hans Rosling, statistician and development champion, dies aged 68 (2/8)
Writing for the Guardian, Karen McVeigh shares the sad news of Hans Rosling’s death. The Swedish academic, whose gift for making data sing brought his innovative ideas to a worldwide audience, died at after year-long illness. (source)
World Bank poverty measurement in the Agenda 2030 era (2/7)
Zach Christensen, Senior Analyst at Development Initiatives, publishes a commentary blog on the recent changes made to the World Bank’s poverty measurement for Development Initiative blog. He addresses how the World Bank poverty measurement, and the changes being adopted, fit in with the more complex and detailed data needs of the sustainable development goals. (source)
Mobile phone and satellite data to map poverty (2/7)
Phys Org writes a short summary on a paper published in the Journal of Royal Society Interface. The paper discusses how an international team has, for the first time, developed a way of combining anonymized data from mobile phones and satellite imagery data to create high resolution maps to measure poverty. (source)
The Private Sector and the SDGs (2/6)
Mahmoud Mohieldin and Svetlana Klimenko of the World Bank Group author a post on Project Syndicate highlighting the importance of the private sector in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. (source)
Stats in Focus (2/1)
Organization of Eastern Caribbean States publishes their January 2017 version of the bi-annual manage that informs of statistical development initiatives and events in the OECS member states. (source)
JANUARY
Open data brings change to Indonesia (1/31)
The World Bank features a story of Indonesia’s open data journey. It summarizes the newly launched open data initiative to promote open government and describes how the initiative is improving good governance at the national and local level. (source)
In a post-truth world, statistics could provide an essential service (1/31)
John Pullinger, the U.K.’s national statistician, authors an article on the Guardian that reinforces the value of official statistics as a public good. This is especially important as an era of “post-truth” and “alternative facts” has garnered momentum in administrations in the U.K. and the United States. (source)
Looking Back and Looking Forward (1/30)
Stefan Schweinfest, Director of UN Statistics Division, writes a post for the UN World Data Forum blog summarizing the accomplishments and achievements of the Forum and suggesting where the development data community needs to go from here. (source)
Statisticians fear Trump White House will manipulate figures to fit narrative (1/30)
Mona Chalabi reports in a Guardian article that U.S. statisticians are concerned that the Trump administration might suppress or manipulate public statistics that do not fit his narrative of the truth, such as abortion, racial inequality, and poverty. (source)
Breakthroughs for Open Data at the UN World Data Forum (1/26)
Shaida Badiee and Deirdre Appel of Open Data Watch author an article sharing five open data breakthroughs from the UN World Data Forum and highlight four unchecked items left on the list to accomplish. (source)
The world of (official) data and statistics; Not dead yet (1/26)
Johannes Jütting of PARIS21 writes an article for the Huffington Post after the UN World Data Forum, highlighting the need to strengthen capacitates of the data producers, users, and donors in a new approach that aligns with the new demands of the data revolution. (source)
Innovation and informed decision making through high quality open data (1/24)
When Singapore’s open data intiative was launched in 2011, the datasets and APIs were not as polished and standardized initially as they could be, nor as relevant and understandable to the layman. The government subsequently shifted focus from quantity to quality of datasets, to ensure that data is machine-readable, and that it is easily understandable for the public. (source)
Long-term investments in a short-term world: Arguments for sustainable development (1/25)
This discussion paper by Development Initiatives makes the case for the acceptance of key issues that are paramount in the struggle for sustainable development data, looking in particular at civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) and community-based censuses. (source)
The repercussions of gender bias in data (1/24)
Emily Courey Pryor of Data2X and Shaida Badiee of Open Data Watch explore issues and consequences around gender biased data in this latest video by Bloomberg on the Data Makes Possible website. (source)
Three cheers for the first UN World Data Forum (1/24)
Claire Melamed, Executive Director of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, writes a blog post for their website recapping their organization’s experience at the forum through three hurrahs – one for the past, for the present, and for the future. (source)
Bigger buy-in on data disaggregation (1/23)
Molly Anders authors an article on DevEx highlighting the necessity of data disaggregation in the achievement of the sustainable development goals. The article provides a brief commentary on the U.K’s Department for International Development Data Disaggregation Action Plan and the Global Action Plan for Sustainable Development Data. (source)
How statistics lost their power – and why we should fear what comes next (1/19)
William Davies authors a long article on the Guardian discussing the declining authority of statistics. He notes that this loss of power is at the heart of the crisis that has become known as “post-truth” politics. (source)
To leave no one behind, data disaggregation needs to catch up (1/19)
Jared Kalow and Megan O’Donnel write a blog post for the Center for Global Development on why data disaggregation for SDG indicators matter. The article offers three steps to move forward with data disaggregation: prioritize, don’t cut corners, and clarify key terms and definitions. (source)
7 ways mobile data is being used to change the world (1/9)
Florence Broderick, Strategic Marketing Manager, and Richard Benjamins, VP for Big Data for Social Good, co-author a post on the UN Data Forum blog showcasing seven projects, linked to mobile phone data. (source)
Why the SDGs are relevant to the U.S and how data can help (1/10)
Laura Manley, co-founder of the Center for Open Data Enterprise, authors a post on the Huffington Post contributor blog that presents the recently released report from the U.S. SDG Data Revolution Roadmap event held on December 14th 2016. (source)
Morocco Open Data Visualization Engine (1/9)
El Anna Mounir writes a guest post for the Open Government Partnership blog on Morocco’s newest data visualization tool. In Morocco, to realize the full potential of Open Data, a Civic Tech organization built Marocviz, a visualization platform for Morocco’s public data. (source)
The Global Impact of Open Data: Key Findings from Detailed Case Studies Around the World (1)
Authors Andrew Young and Stefaan Verhulst of the GovLab at New York University, present detailed case studies of open data projects throughout the world, along with in-depth analysis of what works and what doesn’t. (source)
Why a UN World Data Forum? Fact sheet (1)
Ahead of the UN World Data Forum, the UN Statistical Division publishes a fact sheet about data gaps and challenges in the areas of household surveys, birth registration, maternal and child welfare, gender, and vulnerable populations. Expectations of the first Forum are also included. (source)
What does 2017 hold for open data initiatives? (1/6)
The Guardian interviews four open data experts on what the coming years have in store for the open data economy and how this sector will continue to grow in 2017. Experts included co-founder of the Open Data Institute, Sir Niegel Shadbolt and Pavel Richter, Chief executive office of Open Knowledge Foundation. (source)
In a world awash with data, is the census still relevant? (1/5)
As part of their series, “The Way We Measure”, the Conversation takes a closer look at the relevancy, purpose, and future of the Australian census. (source)
45,000 troops to be deployed for population census (1/3)
According to Daily Dunya in Islamabad, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics announced its schedule for the much-anticipated population census. Chief Statistician, Asif Bajwa, informed that the census would begin on March 15 and would be conducted in two phases. (source)
A Year Ahead: OD4D in 2017 (1/3)
Open Data for Development shares the exciting work they have ahead in 2017, including the launch of two new regional hubs, one for sub-Saharan Africa and one for the Middle East and North Africa as well as the continuation and expansion of new projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. (source)
Life, Death and Data (January)
BBC Radio 4 More or Less speaks with Dr. Claire Melamed, Executive Director of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, on the dearth of data in development and how to combat the challenges that stem from it. (source)